Summarizing, Paraphrasing, and Retelling

Book excerpt: What's the big idea? That's a question students are asked all the time in papers, assessments, and standardized writing tests of every sort. Whether summarizing research sources or synopsizing the plot of a two-hundred page novel, the ability to cut through extraneous details and describe the major themes and highlights of a text is key to success in school and in life. Until now, however, summarization has been difficult to teach and learn, but with Summarizing, Paraphrasing, and Retelling, you'll discover a powerful and practical way to teach these vital skills. Summarizing, Paraphrasing, and Retelling is a slim, do-it-all guide that presents everything you need for teaching kids to separate out trivial items in their reading and then identify and communicate the main ideas and crucial details. Emily Kissner breaks summarization down into smaller, more manageable skills-such as paraphrasing, writing synopses, retelling, and restating the main-idea-illustrating what good summarization looks like and how to adjust your teaching to fit your students' needs. She offers not only methods for individual and group instruction, but also handy, reproducible resources, such as assessment checklists, forms for group work, peer-response sheets, and sample passages for students to practice with. Best of all, Kissner's approach is a student-centered alternative to more traditional skill-and-drill preparations. Supported by research and tested in classrooms, Summarizing, Paraphrasing, and Retelling gives you both big ideas for powerful teaching and important particulars to help you plan instruction and analyze your students' progress. What's the big idea behind teaching summarizing? Read Summarizing, Paraphrasing, and Retelling and find out.